Coming face to face with a wild bear isn’t ideal in any situation — but one man miraculously escaped alive after he came across one while climbing on a rock ledge.
The heart-stopping moment the climber — who was in Mount Futago in Japan — came across the black bear and was forced to fight for his life was captured on camera in a stunning clip.
The terrifying interaction took place earlier in October, with footage showing the man climbing when he suddenly comes across the bear, who is thought to be defending her cub.
The climber immediately starts to defend himself, screaming, kicking and punching the bear who retreats slightly before lunging for him again and again.
The climber appeared to fend off the bear’s advances while clinging to the rock ledge, although the bear kept returning and lunging at the man.
After about 30 seconds, the bear scurried off with its cub into the brush and the climber is then seen desperately looking around in case it returns.
According to TMZ, the climber admits he was invading the bear’s territory but also said he had to defend himself after the bear attacked.
The climber also said his karate and mixed martial arts training may have saved his life during the attack.